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[tricky]

Guys,

Just thought I would ask a question about rear tyre wear on my 09 M3 6MT E90 to see if anyone has seen anything similar.

I've noticed over the last two months that the car has been getting very tail happy (even at 70mph in 3rd gear in a straight line) and looking at the tyres its obvious that the right hand side rear tyre has considerably more wear than the left hand side rear tyre.

I was planning on changing both tyres when either of them got down to a couple of mm's of tread left (still well above the legal minimum - neither tyre is bald) however at the weekend whilst driving at a steady 60mph in traffic - a number of warnings appeared indicating that DSC, ABS etc where all disabled.

Having had the car checked - the error was generated by the wheel speed sensors because the right hand side rear tyre was spinning faster than the left hand side - due to the reduced tread giving a smaller circumference causing a discrepancy to be identified by the sensor and then throwing up the warnings.

Having changed both tyres its clear that despite the original tyres being fitted at the same time, same miles etc and no track work - there is 3mm of tread difference between the two (the left hand side tyre is only half worn unlike the right hand side) - there is no unusal wear on either tyre (i.e. the tread is worn evenly across the whole tyre on both sides) - just one tyre has worn out probably 50% quicker than the other.

The warnings have gone - but the car is due to be looked at by BMW to see if they can figure out why one tyre would wear out much faster than the other (both conti's). Anyone have any suggestions as to what would cause it (can say its probably not driver related - most of the miles have been cruising on a motorway)? I just dont want to go through the same thing again in a few thousand miles.

Anyone had the same problem or have any suggestions as to what would cause it?

Cheers

Tricky

[FruitCake]

re-do alignment. One thing to cross off the list of possibilities.

[SenorFunkyPants]

+1
If that RH tyre has more negative camber and more toe in than the LH tyre then it will wear quicker yet still show an even wear rate across the tyre.
If you still have the tyre you will be able to feel a difference rubbing your hand across the tread....from inside to outside you will feel a "sharpness" to the edges of the tread whereas rubbing your hand from the outside to the inside of the tread it will feel smooth.
Or it could be something totally different, though I can't imagine what except some weird production fault that gave a tyre with a much softer compound.

[tricky]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

+1
If that RH tyre has more negative camber and more toe in than the LH tyre then it will wear quicker yet still show an even wear rate across the tyre.
If you still have the tyre you will be able to feel a difference rubbing your hand across the tread....from inside to outside you will feel a "sharpness" to the edges of the tread whereas rubbing your hand from the outside to the inside of the tread it will feel smooth.
Or it could be something totally different, though I can't imagine what except some weird production fault that gave a tyre with a much softer compound.

Thanks for the info guys!!

I still have the tyres as I was going to drop them off with the dealership at the same time as dropping the car off with them.

Having checked the tyres - it does feel a little sharper going from inside to outside but I would be lying if I said it was a massive difference.

Also from looking closely at the tyres - the last block of tread on the inside probably has a little (0.5mm) more tread left than the rest of the tyre if that helps at all?

Cheers

Tricky

[CrazyIvan]

Originally Posted by tricky

Thanks for the info guys!!

I still have the tyres as I was going to drop them off with the dealership at the same time as dropping the car off with them.

Having checked the tyres - it does feel a little sharper going from inside to outside but I would be lying if I said it was a massive difference.

Also from looking closely at the tyres - the last block of tread on the inside probably has a little (0.5mm) more tread left than the rest of the tyre if that helps at all?

Cheers

Tricky

+1 on alignment. Uneven wear is typically a good indicator

[tricky]

Thanks guys !!

Looks like alignment is the first thing to check - anyone had experience of getting a dealership to check the alignment or am i likely to be in for a hard fight?

Cheers

Tricky

[ben@tirerack]

If alignment does not explain it, driving conditions might. By your use of 'tyre' and 'cheers' I guess that you may be in a right hand drive country. So then you're driving on the left side of the road, most exit ramps will probably circle left, so if you take all the ramps with extreme gusto, maybe it is eating the right side tire (tyre). You would have to be hitting them fairly hard to make that big of a difference, but that is the sort of thing the M3 encourages....

[tricky]

Thanks Ben.

Yup im based in the UK (good spot) - but we dont tend to have as many exit ramps that corner in the same way as the US so its mostly balanced in terms of cornering left or right (with the exception of roundabouts where its always a right turn).

Good news is the car was looked at by my local dealer today and the M diff needs replacing, it has excessive looseness on one side and is leaking fluid and will be replaced under warranty - thats the good news as the diff itself is priced at nearly $4K over here as a part.

The dealership has said unfortunately I have no chance of getting them to contribute towards the cost of replacing tyres

Anyone else had to have the M diff replaced under warranty?

Cheers

Tricky

[Raptor251]

Its the shitty M diff, the power is not divided 50-50 per side. One tire spins more and wears out faster. You need to rotate your tires side to side man!

[cole328]

I came from a '08 997 S, and hoped to get better rear tire wear nope only got 7500 miles on the first set of rears on my '11 Vert. At least they wore evenly...but man, with no DE and no autox events 7500 miles? I was shocked

[ben@tirerack]

Originally Posted by tricky

Thanks Ben.

Yup im based in the UK (good spot) - but we dont tend to have as many exit ramps that corner in the same way as the US so its mostly balanced in terms of cornering left or right (with the exception of roundabouts where its always a right turn).

Good news is the car was looked at by my local dealer today and the M diff needs replacing, it has excessive looseness on one side and is leaking fluid and will be replaced under warranty - thats the good news as the diff itself is priced at nearly $4K over here as a part.

The dealership has said unfortunately I have no chance of getting them to contribute towards the cost of replacing tyres

Anyone else had to have the M diff replaced under warranty?

Cheers

Tricky

Nice that you got it replaced under warranty. The tire was the canary in the coal mine in this case. Next time I hear of someone with wear on one rear tire, this will be a good example to remember. Thanks for sharing the conclusion to the story.